from film with love

it's been way too long since i've done a 'from film with love post' so i couldn't wait to get back some film pictures from the beach to use for this post!  we took four cameras - two of them film - so we aren't lacking pictures!  my favorite camera, hands-down, is my old (super old) olympus pen-ee half frame camera, so that's always the one i reach for when i go somewhere pretty!

no matter how expensive film processing may be, how difficult it may become to find places that process film, or how obsolete film and film cameras may become, to me, digital will never have the same novelty and surprise that film does!  do you use film cameras?  what kind(s) do you use?  and do you develop the film yourself?

when you're waiting on fall and out of ideas

guys, i'll admit it, this is one of those posts that i'm regretting posting even though i'm not even finished typing it yet.  i always think that it's better not to post something, than to post straight up filler.  well, this is filler.  why?  because look at how boring this outfit is.  i mean, correction there, i do like it, but i just think it's too plain to post.  so why share?  because i don't want for my blog to look like it's been abandoned!  i have better things to share, but making and shipping art prints has kept me busy since we've been back from vacation!

shirt: banana republic, thrifted // skirt: target // wedges: payless (i about died when i saw these were only $12.99, so i knew i had to have them) // necklace: dinosaur toes // bracelets: vintage, SF street vendor

the weather was not at all right for a 3/4 sleeve shirt and a dark color skirt, but what can i say, I'M READY FOR FALL!  so that's it for now, but i'll try to have something better for you tomorrow!  so how have you been?  i feel like vacation put me so far behind on keeping up with you guys!

the road trip song game

i thought that instead of the usual vacation photo dump, i'd show a few pictures, but focus more on a little game chris and i made up on the way home to keep from falling asleep while traveling 80mph down the interstate.  the game kept us awake, and has us playing even though we've been home for a few days!

we found the game works best with those awful, corny 80's or 90's songs that no one seems to like, yet radio stations continue to play.  it all started with this little gem by whitesnake.  so, the real lyrics go, "i made up my mind, i ain't wastin' no more time, so here i go again."  and to make it fun, we came up with new lyrics that meant the same thing, but sounded a bit smarter: "i've come to a decision, i will start conserving my time, once again i will start."

we did that for the entire song (don't ask me how we knew all the words), to queen songs (but we do like queen), and to pretty much any song we knew!  now i can't wait for the next trip!  do you have any games that you play to pass the time?

get in mah belleh

i like the eating, i don't like the cooking.  sometimes i get lucky though and come up with something that's almost as easy to make as it is to eat.  enter this pasta salad.  i don't know if it has a name since i made it up.  chris and i ate some similar to this last month in an overpriced hipster cafe, and my taste buds fell in love.  my first attempt at making it was sort of bland, but i think i've nailed it down because the last two times i made it i couldn't get enough.  so i thought i'd share!

let's call it "overpriced hipster pasta salad."  you will need:
> 1.5 cups of uncooked pasta shells
> 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
> 3 TBSP olive oil
> 1-2 diced garlic cloves, depending on how much you like garlic
> 2 tsp dried basil
> as much asiago cheese as you want (i use about a handful because i love it)
> diced cherry tomatoes (as many as you want)

it's pretty self-explanatory from here, but for the sake of recipes, i should give more instructions!  boil the pasta and strain it.  in a large bowl add the cooked pasta, all of the ingredients and mix it all up!  this should chill for a few hours before serving because it tastes better cold, and the flavors have a chance to mix together better when it's chilling.

let me know if you try it, i'd love to hear what you think!

so this is the last day that i'll be blogging until about this time next week since chris and i are leaving for the beach for a few days.  well, if i decide not to wear sunblock and get sunburned to my bones (which i'm afraid to say has happened more than once) and i'm stuck inside because it hurts to stand up, then maybe i'll blog before we get back, otherwise, i'll see you in a week!

uncovet sale!

i had another post typed up and ready to share, but then i realized that i wanted to tell you about something else first!  i'm just going to blame all the brain farts i've been having this week on the fact that we're leaving for a little vacation on saturday (at 6am, ew) so i feel like i can't remember regular things while i'm trying to keep and edit my mental list of what all i have to pack!  but i wanted to share a little uncovet sale with you...

starting today, and then again next wednesday, the 22nd, i'm having a little sale on uncovet!  six different prints are being offered (including the one above) at a special discount to uncovet users, so if you aren't a member, here's a link to sign up.  they've always got amazing things featured, so i'm just happy to be included!

turtle pee

do you have that one thing (or maybe a few things) that you love so much you can't pass up; no matter how much you already have, you just feel like you can't get enough?  that thing for me is lace dresses.  but something i haven't worn before is a lace dress with turtle pee...

jacket: american eagle // dress: h&m via ebay // leather belt: vintage, thrifted // sandals: kork ease // sunglasses: tumbleweeds // necklace: dinosaur toes // turtle pee: c/o eastern box turtle

if you've been reading my blog since last summer, you already know that i stop and get turtles out of the road.  this little girl is the absolute smallest i've ever saved from cars, and i almost didn't see her!  good thing for the tailgating state trooper behind me - i was forced to drive slow.  she probably looks big in the picture thanks to my infant sized hands, but her shell was only 2" long!  she was so cute i couldn't even remember where i put my key or how to start the ignition.  and she was so cute i wasn't even worried about the fact that she peed on me - twice - and left a little puddle of turtle pee on my dress.

also, i'm so happy with the way my necklace turned out!  i made two, and since i can't part with one, the other will be added to my shop sometime soon!

a piece of my heart

for two and a half weeks, my beautiful nephew, nevan, was able to come visit from florida.  it's been over a year since he and his dad moved to florida, and while i knew i missed him, i didn't realize just how much until he was here, driving chris and i around in the golf cart, telling us about dinosaurs, playing my snare drum, trying to avoid kona's face kisses, and giving me hugs that i never wanted to end.

the last night we got to see him and play with him was bittersweet.  it was the most fun we'd had during his visit, but i felt lonely knowing that at the end of the evening i'd have to say goodbye.  when he finally let go, after reaching out of the car window to give me one last tight hug, i cried.  i cried like a baby.  and i kept crying that evening because it felt like a part of me was missing.  i didn't know i could love him so much, and i didn't know that love for a child who isn't even mine could be so powerful.  i think part of it is due to the circumstances surrounding nevan's living in florida, and part of it is a nurturing love because of his health issues, but all of those things aside, i love that little boy more than i ever thought possible; just the thought of him makes me feel emotions so strong it brings me to tears.

there are so many reasons i'm still not ready to be a mom, but one of my biggest, nagging fears was, "will i be able to love my child?"  not to get heavy, because i try to keep things lighthearted, but i've been so scared that because my mom didn't love, want, and accept me like a mother should, i would repeat that.  i worried that i would continue the cycle and there would be one more person in the world just looking for love and acceptance.  while nevan was here, and especially since he's been gone, i've come to realize that i'll be nothing like my mom.  i still have dozens of reasons for not having a baby now or in the near future, but i'm happy to remove the biggest one from my list!  oh, and kona happens to really really like young children, so there's one reason to be a parent.

hoochie dress

i don't know about you, but to me the word hoochie has always been hilarious.  it just seems like the perfect non-dirty word to describe an array of things... like this dress.  as with most forever 21 "dresses" - and i use that word very loosely - it barely covers the belly button, much less the unmentionables.  good thing beca got me these awesome pants...

dress: forever 21 // pants: old navy, gift from beca // necklace: vintage // shoes: kork-ease via ebay

do you have trouble with dresses being entirely too short?  i'm only 5'2" and i often feel like i need to layer a longer dress underneath just to cover up, so i can't imagine how frustrating it must be for people of average height!

friday morning love note

i hope this friday finds you well!  it finds me sleepy, but looking forward to the day because i'll be playing with my little nephew later.  i have to tell you something - i hate romance.  i'd much rather chris and i play fight and chase one another around the house to scare each other than candlelight and lovey talk.  so this morning when i signed into facebook i saw that chris left me the best wall post ever while he was up at 3am with low blood sugar...

"It's 3am, you're sawing logs, and I just wanted to say that we are out of milk...and you're cute when you sleep, even though you make strange noises and your breath may be offensive.  I love you lots."

so there you have - my kind of romance!  what's the best love note you've ever been written?

what i've been working on...

lately i've been up to my elbows, almost literally, in paint, paper, and eraser dust, and i love it!  i just don't know if i can put into words how honored and excited i am each time someone buys a little piece of my art, and even more so when someone wants a custom portrait!  that feeling never gets old.  so here's a peek at a few things i've been working on the last two weeks...

do you recognize the sunglasses in the last picture?  i'm constantly amazed and inspired by my friend beca from tumbleweeds, so if you didn't know, they're tumbleweeds sunnies, and they're being used on tumbleweeds product tags!  also, if you look in my sidebar you'll find a discount code to her shop.

i have a few other ideas for watercolor paintings and ink drawings that i'm trying really hard not to forget, so hopefully i'll be able to sneak in some time to work on those between a family picnic, helping my sister with her wedding preparations, and taking a quick beach trip later this month!

have you been working on anything new lately, artsy or otherwise?

non-sweaty layers

i have one problem with a southern summer, and it's this: i can't wear layers like i want because it's too hot and humid!  honestly, if i'm not wearing layers i feel kind of naked, so i try to find the lightest weight clothes i can.  sometimes though, i'm still not so sure about the outcome...

tank: vintage, thrifted // dress: vintage, thrifted // necklace: vintage, thrifted // sandals: aldo

i love loose-fitting tanks, but it can be difficult finding them small enough to fit me, so i was beyond ecstatic when i found this one!  it's sheer, it's small, and it's so lightweight i don't know i'm wearing it - the definition of the perfect tank.

also, after i posted my last moody rant, i felt really bad and almost deleted it, because i don't want to be known as a negative and angry person.  but, because i personally don't like blogs whose authors never have a bad day, and argument, bad hair, or pms, i felt like it was okay to be upset for a day.  i have good news: our house aired out sunday night and through the day on monday so we couldn't smell the skunk anymore, and kona was bathed enough so that, while i can still smell the bitterness if i put my nose to him, i can it beside him and rub him without dying or smelling like skunk myself!

last, if you are in or around the lynchburg, va area, i wanted to invite you to join me and a few hundred others for the 2nd annual rachael's paws & purrs 5k & 10k benefit run!  chris and i ran in the first one and had so much fun, and i'll be there again this year (he may or may not thanks to a bad knee).  if you didn't read my blog back in april of 2011, i blogged about rachael (the run's namesake, and chris' second cousin) and her husband aaron being killed in an apartment fire.  i still think about them and the tragedy on a near-daily basis, but am happy that, because of so many people and their generosity, rachael's legacy and love for animals lives on.  to find out more about the race, the fund, and rachael, visit their site!  and let me know if you're planning to race on september 22!